Key Points
- The US president said he could turn the devastated territory into "the Riviera of the Middle East".
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the proposal "an idea worth paying attention to".
- The remarks - which have drawn swift condemnation - come as the second phase of Gaza ceasefire talks get underway.
Watch — Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu hold press conference in Washington DC:
US President Donald Trump has proposed that Palestinians living in Gaza be "permanently" resettled and that the US "take over" the devastated strip, during a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"The US will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it, too," Trump told reporters.
"I don't want to be cute. I don't want to be a wiseguy. But this could be the Riviera of the Middle East," Trump said, describing how he would rebuild the enclave, which he previously called "a demolition site".
"I do see a long-term ownership position and I see it bringing great stability to that part of the Middle East and maybe the entire Middle East.
"Everybody I've spoken to loves the idea of the United States owning that piece of land, developing and creating thousands of jobs..."
The remarks drew swift condemnation from Democrats, as well as a strongly worded statement from Saudi Arabia — a key US ally and Middle Eastern power — which said it "rejected" any proposal to remove Palestinians from their homes.
Earlier, Trump called on neighbouring countries such as Jordan and Egypt to take in Palestinians, saying there is no other option for those in the strip, which has been decimated
"If we could find the right piece of land, or numerous pieces of land, and build them some really nice places with plenty of money in the area ... I think that would be a lot better than going back to Gaza," Trump said.
"They are not going to want to go back to Gaza," he added, offering no specifics on how a resettlement process would work in practice.
US President Donald Trump has suggested his country "take over" the Gaza Strip. Source: AP / Abdel Kareem Hana
The comments marked a shift from Trump's earlier proposal on Palestinian resettlement, swiftly rejected by Arab leaders, in which he said it could be “temporarily or could be long-term".
They also echoed those of Israel's far right and contradicted former US president Joe Biden's commitment against the mass displacement of Palestinians.
Democrats reacted with confusion, outrage, and disbelief at the suggestion.
"He’s totally lost it," US senator Chris Murphy from Connecticut wrote on X.
"I have news for you - we aren’t taking over Gaza," he added in a later post.
Netanyahu — who is the first foreign leader to visit Trump at the White House since he took office for a second time — described the plan as "an idea worth paying attention to".
"I think it's something that could change history," he added, before reiterating that Israel would end its war with Hamas by "winning the war" — an outcome he described as being a victory for the US as well.
Trump and Netanyahu's meeting in Washington DC coincides with ongoing mediation efforts between Israel and Hamas on the second phase of a Gaza ceasefire deal.
The two are expected to discuss the future of the fragile truce, as well as strategies to counter Iran and a renewed push for an Israeli-Saudi normalisation deal.
came into force on 19 January after 15 months of war and involved a halt to fighting, the release of some of the Israeli hostages, and the freeing of some Palestinian prisoners.
Phase two of the three-phase deal is intended to focus on agreements on the release of the remaining hostages and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip.
Netanyahu's office said earlier on Tuesday that Israel was preparing to send a high-level delegation to the Qatari capital, Doha, to discuss the continued implementation of the negotiated truce.
The initial six-week deal, agreed upon with Egyptian and Qatari mediators and backed by the US, has remained largely intact, but prospects for a durable settlement are unclear.
More than 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 taken hostage during Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel, according to Israeli tallies. Israel's military assault on the Gaza Strip following the attack killed more than 47,000 Palestinians, Palestinian health authorities say.
The significant escalation was the latest in a long-standing conflict between Hamas and Israel.
Hamas and Netanyahu's government, which includes hardliners who opposed the ceasefire deal, say they are committed to reaching an agreement in the second phase, although each has criticised the other over its implementation.
Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, also said the new phase had started.
"We're in phase two now," Witkoff said, adding he had met Netanyahu on Monday to discuss parameters for the policy negotiations and would meet the prime minister of Qatar, a mediator in the negotiations, in the US on Thursday.
